The Stranger Upstairs: A Novel

Lisa M. Matlin

Sep 2023 · Sold by Bantam

About this ebook

Most people wouldn’t buy an infamous murder house to renovate for fun . . . but Sarah Slade is not most people.
 
“This debut novel deftly explores our shadows—the dark parts of ourselves we don’t want others to see. I couldn’t stop reading.”—Julia Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of The Writing Retreat

A POPSUGAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

A therapist and self-help writer with all the answers, Sarah has just bought a gorgeous Victorian in the community of her dreams. Turns out you can get a killer deal on a house where someone was murdered. Plus, renovating Black Wood House makes for great blog content and a potent distraction from her failing marriage. Good thing nobody knows that her past is as tainted as the bloodstain on her bedroom floor.

But the renovations are fast becoming a nightmare. Sarah imagined custom avocado wallpaper, massive profits, and an appreciative husband who would want to share her bed again. Instead, the neighbors hate her guts and her husband still sleeps on the couch. And though the builders attempt to cover up Black Wood’s horrifying past, a series of bizarre accidents, threatening notes, and unexplained footsteps in the attic only confirm for Sarah what the rest of the town already knows: Something is very wrong in that house.

With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it her sense of reality. But as she peels back the curling wallpaper and discovers the house’s secrets, she realizes that the deadly legacy of Black Wood House has only just begun.

Ratings and reviews

The Stranger Upstairs is a thriller by Lisa M. Matlin. This is my first book by this author, and last. I wanted to give up reading it before I even hit the halfway mark and actually had to force myself to finish it. This story is about a couple that buys a murder house intending to flip it. The whole story is creepy, weird and the characters are unlikeable. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow! This was a wild, twisted ride! I thought I knew where this was going, and to some extent I was a little bit right, but only because it was one of the several running suspicions I had. I could never fully rest on the solution. And even that was so far from the ultimate conclusion. I was left feeling as if I had been run through with a wrecking ball.

About the author

Lisa M. Matlin was a guitarist in a rock band before switching from songwriting to story writing. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, pug, and golden retriever. She’s probably rewatching The Walking Dead right now and trying not to laugh at her own jokes. Matlin is a passionate mental health advocate and your dog’s number one fan.